Aquaponics in Prince George’s County
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Aquaponics in Prince George’s County Erin Hyman, Catherine Moses, Andrew Prinn, Kurt Willson Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jose-Luis Izursa
Transcript of Aquaponics in Prince George’s County
Aquaponics in
Prince George’s County
Erin Hyman, Catherine Moses, Andrew Prinn, Kurt WillsonFaculty Mentor: Dr. Jose-Luis Izursa
Introduction
Collaboration with• PALS• County Planning Department• UMD ENST
Two main issues • Food insecurity• Vacant buildings
Food Insecurity in Prince George's’ County
Availability, access, and utilization
14.3% of the county’s children are food
insecure
17% of the State’s food insecure people
live in Prince George's County
20 food deserts in the county as of 2015
Vacant Buildings in Prince George’s County
54 county-owned properties with
several vacant buildings
No holding tax on vacant properties
Suburban sprawl
Devalue the surrounding community
Solution
Urban Agriculture
Aquaponics
A plan for the county to repurpose vacant buildings for sustainable food production
Interviews: Input from Stakeholders
County
Peter Shapiro
Kim Rush-Lynch
Fatimah Hasan
Park and Planning
Ted Kowaluk
Aquaponic
Kevin Doyle
John Settles
Global Aquaponic Systems
Aquaponic Source
What is Aquaponics?
Aquaculture and hydroponics
Mimics natural cycles
Plants fertilized by fish waste
Low water demand—closed loop system
No need for chemical fertilizers/pesticides
Ability to grow variety of crops
Site Criteria
Vacant building in the County
Large, level area
Near transportation networks: Metro, bus, Beltway
Utilities—water, electric, HVACReduces retrofitting costs
Large parking lot
Adjacent to residential area
Project Description
Building Description○ 4701 Silver Hill Rd, Hillcrest Heights○ previously a Rite Aid drug store ○ main level: 11,600 sq ft○ basement: 7,800 sq ft
Vacant and owned by the county
Accessible by public transportation
System Design
The Aquaponics Source premade system:
Eight 8’ x 80’ deep water culture troughs ○ 5,120 sq ft of production space
Four raised media beds 9 square feet each ○ 288 sq ft for production of fruiting crops
Two vertical nursery systems
16 fish tanks with 8,000 gallon capacity ○ one gravity filtration system per four tanks
System Design
Project Description- Budget
Component One-time Expense Yearly Expense
Building retrofit $100,000 X
System (including lights) $240,675 X
Operations $8,100 $121,293
Education $2,500 $10,000
Totals $417,155 $133,075
First Year Total $549,055
Labor
Included in Operations Budget:
• two full time• two part time• one manager
Possible Funding Mechanisms
Grants ○ EPA Sustainability Research Grants ($4 billion distributed among all grants)○ USDA Sustainable Agriculture grant (up to $250,000)○ Maryland Sea Grant (up to $70,000)○ UMD Sustainability Fund Grant (up to $330,000)
Small business loan
County funding/support
Production Potential
Perch
2,285 lbs/year
Catfish
2,000 lbs/year
Lettuce
11,200 heads/week
160,000 heads/yr
Tomatoes
2,880 lbs/season
Revenue Potential - Option 1
Crop Price/lbsAnnual
Production Total Space Total
Lettuce $1.85 37 heads per ft2 5120 ft2 $350,464.00
Tomato $1.58 10 lbs per ft2 288 ft2 $4,550.40
Perch $5.50 2,285 lbs 8,000 gallons $12,567.50
Total Revenue: $367,581.90 Annual Net Revenue: $234,506.70
Crop Price/lbs Annual Production Total Space Total
Lettuce $1.85 37 heads per ft2 2560 ft2 $175,232.00
Basil $6.50 5lbs per ft2 1280 ft2 $41,600.00
Swiss Chard $3.00 5lbs per ft2 1280 ft2 $19,200.00
Bell Pepper $1.44 5lbs per ft2 288 ft2 $2,073.60
Perch $5.50 2,285lbs 8,000 gallons $12,567.50
Revenue Potential - Option 2 Total Revenue: $250,673.10 Annual Net Revenue: $117,597.90
Project Impacts
Financial
Property values
Jobs
Social
Food insecurity
Build community
Healthy eating
Environmental
Minimal waste
Site revitalization
The Case for Growing Food Now
Food pantries running out of food
Food shortages due to the pandemic
Washington post article (12/14/20) - https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/growing-threat-of-hunger-in-a-wealthy-region-is-blunt-example-of-economic-inequality/2020/12/13/614140c4-3bfd-11eb-9276-ae0ca72729be_story.html
Source: McCartney, R. (2020). Growing threat of hunger in wealthy regions is blunt example of economic inequality. The Washington Post
Future Steps
Education
K-12 programs
Internships
Partnerships
Restaurants
Community Supported Agriculture
Amenitize
Coffee shop
Co-op
Farmers Market
Article from Maryland Today
from the University’s Office of Strategic Communication
https://today.umd.edu/articles/water-food-deserts-54f075e8-28a1-4629-998e-72f2e2f4ee7b
Questions?
Contact Erin Hyman
Catherine [email protected]
Andrew [email protected]
Kurt [email protected]
Dr. Jose-Luis [email protected]
